All to Jesus

I’ve been reflecting recently on the nature of Christianity. It seems that the more I mature in Christ, the more my life seems to be about surrender, not figuring it out or getting it right. Becoming simpler and more childlike seems to be a bigger part of living for Christ than does gaining theology or social status.

It also seems less about fighting. Many people these days are engaged in a fight of some kind. They fight injustice, politics, ideas and ideals, other people. Yes, there is a time and place for this. There is also a time when we ultimately surrender these fights to Jesus, knowing that this is His world and He’s in charge. This kind of surrender is countercultural; it looks like losing, like giving up. And indeed it is a form of giving up, a yielding for something better. It is a pure kind of worship.

With this in mind, I’ve written a poem of sorts about the good and bad this life has to offer – and the surrender that comes with letting Christ be Lord.

 

All to Jesus.

 

When riches abound and things go my way,

All to Jesus, I surrender.

When income collapses and my contingency pans fall through,

All to Jesus, I surrender.

When my body fails me in new and incomprehensible ways,

All to Jesus, I surrender.

 

When trouble becomes my daily bread,

And worry is my steadfast companion,

All to Jesus, I surrender.

 

When my mind seems to slip through my fingers,

Drifting beyond my reach,

All to Jesus, I surrender.

 

When others have let me down,

Even those I think ought to know better,

All to Jesus, I surrender.

 

When I try to forgive,

And feel the hatred beating against the walls of my chest,

All to Jesus, I surrender.

 

When I witness suffering in others,

And wonder at the meaning of it all,

All to Jesus, I surrender.

 

When my rights are violated,

And I am failed by those systems designed to protect me,

All to Jesus, I surrender.

 

When places of safety and sanctuary

Morph into terrors and nightmares,

All to Jesus, I surrender.

 

When in my daily grind,

I fail to find the satisfaction promised by the world,

All to Jesus, I surrender.

 

In disappointment, in fear, in regret,

In mistrust and miscommunication,

In politics, in passivity,

In bounty and in burnout,

All to Jesus, I surrender.

 

In the final analysis,

In the quiet solitude of prayer,

In exhausted stillness,

All to Jesus, I surrender.

 

With hunger and yearning,

With vulnerability and need,

With simple childlike trust,

All to Jesus, I surrender.

 

Though I cannot see,

I will follow.

All to Jesus, I surrender.

 

© 2017 Steph Penny.

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